It was so bad I once said I’d rather remain the way people knew me instead of showing forth the real me that has been trapped in a cocoon.

I eventually had to summon courage to shake off the chains. This is not to say I do not sometimes find myself slipping back, but I now have the ability to get myself quickly enough.

Humans are designed to rely on each other for survival, but if we allow this affect how we show up in the world, we will be merely limiting our potential, get stuck in our comfort zone, and fail to step into our true purpose.

Enough of the preamble. How then can we face the fear of what people think.

Be Unapologetically You: Easier said than done right? The first step to break free is to appreciate yourself, having the knowledge that you are your only kind of YOU. There is no sense in making apologies for your unique intrinsic design. The moment you accept yourself for who you are, and you accept it as a settled fact that not everyone will agree with you, then you’ve set yourself free from fear.

What You Think People Think Is Not What They Think: The mistake we often make is that we forget that people are too consumed with themselves to think on you, and even when their thoughts are channeled towards you it is not what you think that they are actually thinking. The earlier you come to terms with this fact, the better. Wait, even if their thinking of you is now what you think, that’s their opinion, it ought not to define you.

Be Deliberate: There is no need pretending that we can just be free without having some setbacks. All you need to do is to deliberately take your mind of the fear and channel your thoughts to something else. As soon as you catch yourself sliding back, do yourself the honor of getting a grip of yourself again before it’s too late.

Enjoy The New You: If you are not proud of the new person you’re becoming, it won’t take a century before you go crashing back into the fears of what you were free from.

Having followed the steps stated above, enjoy the new you and live above your fears.